Let Freedom Ring

Happy 4th of July- 248 Years!
Quote by Educator John Orville Taylor in his book, The District School, 1834

“Schools are the depositories of liberty. He who founds a school of instruction establishes the liberty of his country, and he who educates the people makes them free. He who wishes his country to take a high standing among the nations of the earth, he who wishes for the growing improvement of his countrymen, and he who wishes the perpetuity of THIS glorious example of liberty and self-government will desire to do all in his power to educate the people.”

​And so it should be in 2024. Is it? Are we inculcating the ideals of patriotism and love of country in our public schools as we did in the common school era? Our public schools were founded  on the ideals of producing a literate, united, and patriotic citizenry. Love of country pervades the histories of our one-room schools. Daily readings, the Pledge of Allegiance in various forms, national hymns and songs, poetry, and stories of our nation's heroes are all evident as we find lesson plans and journals in schoolhouse records or read memoirs of those who attended our country schools.

​Lucky for me, a copy of "The Patriotic Reader for Seventh and Eight Grades" (Houghton Mifflin Co. 1917) fell into my grateful hands a while back, a gift from a dear friend. It is one glimpse into the aspirations of our earlier public schools to teach children pride in the United States of America. Yet that practice  started long before any book company created compilations. Fostering patriotism was a standard set by communities and teachers from the very beginning of our country schools.

Categories in the Patriotic Reader's Table of Contents  include: The Origin of Our Country, How We Became a Nation, The Glory of Our History, Our Greatest Leaders Washington and Lincoln. Amalgamation of Races in America, Our Country's Ideals, Our Flag, National Hymns and Songs, and Quotations and Short Selections. EACH category includes countless readings of prose and poetry, speeches, and reflections by famous people. Generations of school children were inspired by stories similar to these. My copy is characteristically well-worn and obviously well-loved.

Maybe one of our presenters at a future CSAA conference would tackle the broader topic of country school patriotism...Hmmm.....Any takers?